Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom as Will Turner in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006).

We've seen him as a monster-slaying elf in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and a sword-wielding buccaneer in three "Pirates of the Caribbean" films. Now, Orlando Bloom is not only making his Broadway debut, but also taking on his first Shakespearean role, in "Romeo and Juliet."

By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Born in Canterbury, England, Orlando Bloom was raised by his mother, who ran a language academy, and her husband, South African expatriate writer Harry Saul Bloom, who died when Orlando was four.

As a teenager, Orlando learned that his biological father was not Harry Saul Bloom, but a close family friend. "It does sound like it's right out of Shakespeare, doesn't it?" said correspondent Rita Braver.

"It does, it does," Bloom said. "And it was quite a surprise. Colin Stone, who I'm very, very close to, has always been a part of my life. I consider myself to have two fathers, you know?"

An issue that Bloom had to confront early is his dyslexia.

"I always felt like I probably had to work twice as hard as everyone else to get about the same distance as a kid at school," he told Braver. "But I think that that gave me character, and taught me a lot about hard work and what it took to get somewhere."

Credit: Guildhall School of Music and Drama

At age 16 Orlando Bloom moved to London to study acting, and attended the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He got a few small television and film roles, including a male prostitute (left) in the 1997 film "Wilde," about writer-playwright Oscar Wilde.

Credit: Sony Pictures Classics

Orlando Bloom as Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings."

Bloom learned two days before his graduation from drama school that he had been cast in the Tolkien trilogy. "Happy graduation, indeed!" he told Braver. "It was ridiculous. I remember the first time I got the call, I was standing in my flat in London. And for about a week, I called my agent three or four times a day to say, 'Is it real? Really? They haven't changed their mind? Have they changed their mind yet? Are you sure? Is this really happening?'"

Credit: New Line Cinema

Orlando Bloom as Legolas in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

When Rita Braver asked Bloom what he liked about his character, Bloom replied, "What's not to like? I mean, he's immortal. He comes in and saves the day. It was just a lot of fun, honestly. And to be a part of [Tolkien's] stories, I think, is what's so magical.

"All of the characters involved in those stories have a very clearly depicted role. And I think, to Pete's credit, he really understood what those characters were and what they needed, and what moments they had. And so he knew that I was, like, the Action Elf, you know? I come in, pout, shoot a bow and arrow, save the day, say a couple of words and I'm off, you know?"

Credit: New Line Cinema

Rita Braver asked, "Did you instinctively feel while you were making those films -- 'cause you made the three of them together-- that 'The Lord of the Rings' was going to be as big as it got to be?"

"To be honest, I would never have known. I could never have known," Orlando Bloom replied. "I remember getting off the plane and going through the Weta Workshop and seeing thousands of Uruk-Hai and Orc costumes hanging on rails and thinking, 'This is gonna be big.'"

"But it could've been a big flop."

"And I wouldn't have known, you know? I had no expectation. The joy I think for everyone on that movie was there was just all this hope and energy and pure creative flow, and no expectation of anything. Just, I think, a lot of sincere hope and energy, which was wonderful."

Credit: New Line Cinema

From left: Actors Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom and Billy Boyd attend the premiere of "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, December 21, 2001, in Sydney, Australia.

Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Orlando Bloom appeared with Josh Hartnett and Hugh Dancy in Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" (2001), based on the true events of U.S. military personnel under fire in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Credit: Columbia Pictures

Orlando Bloom in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002), the second film of the trilogy.

Credit: New Line Cinema

Orlando Bloom in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002).

Credit: New Line Cinema

Miranda Otto, Bernard Hill and Orlando Bloom attend the premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," at the Cinerama Dome Theatre and after-party at the Sunset Room in Hollywood, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 15, 2002.

Credit: Kevin Winter/ImageDirect

Actors Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom wave during a parade prior to the world premiere of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," December 1, 2003, in Wellington, New Zealand.

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Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger in "Ned Kelly" (2003), about the legendary Australian outlaw. The film also starred Naomi Watts and Geoffrey Rush.

Credit: Focus Features

Orlando Bloom as Will Turner in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003).

"There was a real dreamlike quality to that first movie," Bloom said. "'Cause Johnny was creating that character, and it was sort of all unfolding before our eyes."

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Orlando Bloom in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003).

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003).

Bloom said that in the script, Depp's character of Captain Jack Sparrow read "like a straight sort of hero.

"I was like, 'Wow, these two - how's that gonna work?' And when Johnny rocked up on set and just did Jack Sparrow, it was like, 'Okay, well, I know what I gotta do. I'll be the straight guy.'"

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

The unquestionable success of "Pirates of the Caribbean" led to two sequels being filmed back-to-back: "Dead Man's Chest" (released in 2006), and "At World's End" (2007).

Rita Braver asked Orlando Bloom, "Were those movies as fun to make as they look like?"

"They were, yeah, they absolutely were," he replied. "Particularly the first movie, [which] was a movie that nobody had any idea. Nobody wanted to touch a pirate movie, 'cause they were like the kiss of death, I think, in Hollywood at the time. And I was doing a film with Heath Ledger and Geoffrey Rush in Australia called 'Ned Kelly.' And Geoffrey was signed up to play Barbossa. He said to me, 'You should read this 'cause I think it's gonna be really good.' And I did. It was based on the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean ride, which sounded a bit hokey, to be honest. And I think probably a lot of people kinda sidestepped it, thinking that it might be a bit hokey. And I read it and I thought the role was fantastic."

From "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End": Geoffrey Rush as Captain Hector Barbossa, Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, Naomie Harris as Tia Dalma, and Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.

Credit: Walt Disney Pictures

Actors Kate Bosworth and Orlando Bloom arrive at the after-party following the opening night of AFI Fest, at the Henry Fonda Theater on November 4, 2004 in Hollywood, Calif.

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Eric Bana as Hector, and Orlando Bloom as Paris seek to defend the city of Troy from invading Greek forces intent on rescuing a stolen princess, in "Troy" (2004), based (loosely) on Homer's epic, "Iliad."

Bloom and Kerr, an Australian who began modeling at age 13 and who became recognizable for her work with Maybelline, Victoria's Secret and Balenciaga, were married in 2010.

Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Actor Orlando Bloom and model Miranda Kerr attend the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2, 2011 in New York City.

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In the 2009 anthology of 11 short films, titled "New York, I Love You," Christina Ricci and Orlando Bloom star in a tale by playwright Israel Horovitz.

Credit: Vivendi Entertainment

Orlando Bloom appeared in "Sympathy for Delicious," the directorial debut of actor Mark Ruffalo. Bloom played The Stain, the lead singer of a punk rock band.

Credit: Corner Store Entertainment

In the thriller, "The Good Doctor" (2011), Orlando Bloom played a resident doctor who becomes obsessed with a young patient (Riley Keough).

Credit: Magnolia Pictures

Orlando Bloom played the Duke of Buckingham in the 2011 film remake of the Alexandre Dumas adventure, "The Three Musketeers."

Credit: Summit Entertainment

In "Zulu" (2013), Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker investigate the deaths of two women in this police thriller set in Cape Town, South Africa. The film bowed at the Cannes Film Festival.

Credit: Pathe

Actor Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr arrive at the 2013 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter at Sunset Tower, February 24, 2013 in West Hollywood, Calif.

Bloom recently announced his split from Kerr, with whom he has a child, three-year-old Flynn.

"It's been very challenging in many ways," Bloom told Braver. "You know, I love Miranda, and she loves me. We both adore and love our son. We both recognize and realize that we're going to be in each other's lives for the rest of our lives, raising our son. . . . But when you have two people who are incredibly busy and who are both very visible in the world, I think it can be challenging to keep that schedule and that kind of life in the same track, you know?"

Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Orlando Bloom recreated his role of the elf, Logolas, in Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy.

The "Rings" trilogy, said Bloom, "was a remarkable experience, you know? Pete really gave me my start in my career and in life with that opportunity. So when he called to say, 'We're thinking we could probably squeeze Leggy into 'The Hobbit,' I was like, 'Tell me when you want me there.'"

Credit: Warner Brothers

Evangeline Lilly, as the elf Tauriel, and Orlando Bloom, as Legolas, in "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug."

When Braver suggested that there might be a romantic interest for his character in the new film, Bloom demurred. "It's something of a romantic interest," he replied. "I mean, romance and elves don't really, kind of ... it's [clears throat]."

Credit: Warner Brothers

Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad play the doomed lovers in a present-day staging of "Romeo and Juliet."

At age 36, Bloom is now returning to the stage, playing one of Shakespeare's most famous roles. "Yes, my mum did liken it to me climbing Mount Everest for my first climb out the gate," Bloom laughed.

Credit: "Romeo and Juliet"/Hartman Group

Orlando Bloom as Romeo in a present-day staging of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

Of his stage entrance on a motorcycle, Bloom said he'd arrived for his first meeting with the play's director, David Leveaux, on a motorbike. "I think that must've stuck in his mind," he told Braver. "Because he gave me a call two months prior to us going into rehearsal, and he said, 'I've had this idea. What do you think about arriving on stage on a motorbike?' And I was like, 'Well, if you think so.' I mean, I just didn't want it to seem like a gimmick. But actually, for me as Orlando, it plays really well. And I think for the character it works.

"What I've come to realize is a Broadway audience loves to welcome their leading characters onto the stage. And so in a way, [this] kind of did that quite gracefully ... I take the helmet off, and hopefully a moment of appreciation, and then we get on with the play, you know?"

Credit: "Romeo and Juliet"/Hartman Group

Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad play Shakespeare's doomed lovers in a present-day staging of "Romeo and Juliet."

Bloom told Braver that he'd had the opportunity to perform the balcony scene in Los Angeles, and the experience "just kind of tweaked me about getting back into doing some theatre. I trained at drama school in London under Patsy Rodenburg [Head of Voice at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama]. It really felt like it was time to pick up that thread again."

Credit: "Romeo and Juliet"/Hartman Group

Condola Rashad (who previously appeared in "The Trip to Bountiful") and Orlando Bloom play Shakespeare's doomed lovers in a present-day staging of "Romeo and Juliet."

"To have the dialogue of William Shakespeare on the stage in Broadway in 2013 to me is amazing," said Bloom. "This play was written by William Shakespeare for his youth generation, [so] when we brought this production to Broadway, I said to David [Leveaux], 'This has to be a Broadway production that is for the youth generation of New York City.' And I really think that that's what David has done. He's edited and simplified it to a place where it's very accessible to an audience, and they're getting a fresh take on a classic love story."

Credit: "Romeo and Juliet"/Hartman Group

CBS News correspondent Rita Braver with actor Orlando Bloom on Broadway, where Bloom is starring in "Rome and Juliet."

Bloom joked that, given his success with trilogies, "We've actually changed the ending of 'Romeo and Juliet' so that there can be a sequel!"